The Northeast Arc Users Group (NEARC) is an independent, volunteer organization dedicated to helping users of Esri GIS software be more successful. The geographic area encompassed by the group includes New England and New York. NEARC hosts two conference annually; one in the Spring and one in the Fall. NEARC was first established in 1986 to create a forum for users of ESRI’s GIS software to exchange information and to provide feedback to ESRI regarding software problems and requests for enhancements. The conference now has over 500 attendees, of increasing diversity, both in the broad spectrum of industries we represent, and in software tools we use. NEARC is an independant organization that was established as a non-profit in 1995.